Stories by E.J. Dionne Jr.

The boilerplate in a candidate’s speeches gets little attention because words used over and over never constitute “news.” But one of John McCain’s favorite lines—his declaration that “the transcendent challenge of the 21st century is radical Islamic extremists,” or, as he sometimes says it, “extremism”—could define the 2008 election.

The Democrats’ hopes of regaining the White House hinge on how the party proceeds in the coming weeks and months. If momentum or civility reigns, they’ve got a shot. But if back-room dealing and cheating prevail, don’t hold your breath.

Democrats are divided this year not by the issues but by a feeling and a theory. This helps explain why the preferences of voters in the Democratic presidential primaries so far have gyrated so wildly.

If the Arizona senator secures the Republican presidential nomination, his victory would signal a revolution in American politics—a divorce, after a 28-year marriage, between the Republican and conservative establishments.

Considered among the best of America’s new crop of columnists, E.J. Dionne combines his passions for people and politics with his keen intellect to deliver reasoned analysis that is followed by a wide circle of policy-makers nationwide—on the left, right and center.

Dionne began his twice-weekly op-ed column for The Washington Post in 1993. In 1996, it was syndicated by The Washington Post Writers Group, and he now appears in more than 90 newspapers in the United States and abroad.

Dionne joined The Post in 1990 as a reporter covering national politics. His best-selling book, ?Why Americans Hate Politics? (Simon & Schuster), was published in 1991. The book, which Newsday called ?a classic in American political history,? anticipated all the major themes of the 1992 campaign. It won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and was a National Book Award nominee.

Dionne also spent 14 years with The New York Times, reporting on state and local government, national politics, and from around the world, including stints in Paris, Rome and Beirut. The Los Angeles Times praised his coverage of the Vatican as the best in two decades.

Dionne has been a frequent commentator on politics for National Public Radio, CNN and NBC?s ?Meet the Press.? His second book, ?They Only Look Dead: Why Progressives Will Dominate The Next Political Era? (Simon & Schuster), was published in February 1996. The New York Times Book Review called it ?a luminously intelligent and quietly passionate polemic that deserves to alter the terms of American political debate.?

In 1998, Dionne edited ?Community Works: The Revival of Civil Society in America? (Brookings Institution Press) and has co-edited ?What?s God Got To Do With the American Experiment?? (Brookings Institution Press, 2000) with John J. DiIulio Jr. His third book, ?Stand Up Fight Back: Republican Toughs, Democratic Wimps, and the Politics of Revenge? (Simon & Schuster) was published May 2004.

In 1996, in selecting Dionne as recipient of its annual Carey McWilliams Award to honor a major journalistic contribution to the understanding of politics, the American Political Science Association said: ?We honor Mr. Dionne as one of Washington?s finest journalistic thinkers and for his insightful daily contributions to the political discourse of our nation. ... His tireless efforts uplift the public ... in a time that cries for reasoned debate, not more negative ads, rumor or simplistic sound bites.? In 1997, he was named among the 25 most influential Washington journalists by the National Journal and among the capital city?s top 50 journalists by the Washingtonian magazine.

Dionne grew up in Fall River, Mass. He graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. from Harvard University in 1973 and received his doctorate from Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. In 1994-95, he was a guest scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center. In May 1996, Dionne joined The Brookings Institution as a senior fellow in the Governance Studies Program, then known as Governmental Studies. He began teaching at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute as University Professor in the Foundations of Democracy and Culture in the fall of 2003.

He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife Mary Boyle, and their three children.